Maksim Kruglov is a political prisoner

The deputy chair of the Yabloko party has been sentenced to 7 years’ imprisonment on a charge of spreading ‘fake news’ about the Russian army for posts about Bucha and Mariupol

The ‘Political Prisoners. Memorial’ human rights project, in accordance with international standards, considers Maksim Kruglov a political prisoner. Kruglov was convicted on a charge of intentionally spreading information known to be false about the Russian army for two anti-war posts on Telegram. Maksim Kruglov’s criminal prosecution violated his rights to freedom of expression and a fair trial. We demand that Maksim Kruglov be released and that all criminal charges against him be dropped.

Who is Maksim Kruglov and what are the charges against him?

Maksim Kruglov is a Russian politician who has a PhD in political science and has worked as a university lecturer. He is deputy chair of the Yabloko party and has previously been chair of the Yabloko party group in the Moscow City Duma. On 1 October 2025, he was detained in St. Petersburg and taken to Moscow, where his home was searched.

Kruglov was charged with ‘intentionally spreading information known to be false about the Russian army on grounds of political hatred’ (Article 207.3, Part 2[e], of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation). The grounds for the charge were two posts he had made on Telegram on 2 and 3 April 2022 about crimes committed by the Russian military in Bucha near Kyiv and Mariupol.

On 24 June 2026, Maksim Kruglov was sentenced to 7 years of imprisonment in a general-regime penal colony.

Why do we consider Maksim Kruglov a political prisoner?

The article criminalising the ‘intentional dissemination of information known to be false about the Russian army,’ under which Maksim Kruglov is being prosecuted, was adopted into law immediately after the start of Russia’s full-scale war against Ukraine. It effectively prohibits the dissemination of information about the war and the actions of the military, in violation of the right to freedom of expression and of the Russian Constitution. Any charges brought under it are therefore unlawful. This article should be rescinded, all related convictions quashed and ongoing prosecutions dropped.

The crimes in Mariupol and Bucha are not fake news, but facts that have been documented in reports by the Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights. The Russian military is responsible for these crimes.

The prosecution of Maksim Kruglov is retribution for his anti-war stance and is intended to intimidate all those in Russia who oppose the war against Ukraine. Kruglov’s prosecution is not the first instance of repressive measures against members of the Yabloko party. We believe that the intensification of this repression is linked to the upcoming State Duma elections in September 2026.

A detailed description of Maksim Kruglov’s case and of our position is available on our website.

How can you help?

You can write to Maksim Kruglov at the following address:

RU: 

127055, г. Москва, ул. Новослободская, д. 45, ФКУ СИЗО-2 ГУФСИН России по г. Москве,  Круглов Максим Сергеевич 1986 г. р. 

EN:

Maksim Sergeevich Kruglov (born 1986), Remand Prison No. 2, Federal Penitentiary Service of Russia for the city of Moscow, 45 Novoslobodskaya Street, Moscow, 127055, Russia.

You can also send emails via F-Pismo (for payment with Russian bank cards), ZT (for payment with all bank cards), and Memorial-France (free of charge).

Please note that letters in languages other than Russian are highly unlikely to reach the intended recipient.

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